One of the realities of education today is that it is expensive. Tuition and other costs continue to rise. I have met many pastors who left seminary with as much as $60,000.00 in student debt. I wonder how many end up leaving the ministry after a few short years simply because they cannot service that debt and provide for their families.
In addition to the cost factor, for those of us serving in bivocational roles finding the time to pursue an education can be another challenge. It is just not feasible for a bivocational minister with a family to quit his or her job, leave the church being served, move to a seminary setting, and pursue a theological education. That is not to say that God does not call some people to do that, but for many of us it does not seem to be a logical step. Increasing numbers of seminaries and universities offer online studies that do not require the student to be on campus except for brief periods of time. At this time there are few MDiv programs that can be completed entirely online, but there are other theological degrees that can be done online that may be even more appropriate for some of us in ministry. I did a Masters of Arts in Religion online and only had to attend one intensive on campus because they did not yet have it ready for online studies.
Liberty University has a large number of online students pursuing both undergraduate and graduate degrees. That is where I earned my Masters and my Doctorate. Campbellsville University offers a MTh that can be completed online and also has a Certificate program specially designed for bivocational ministers that is offered online. If the student completes the certificate program and wishes to enroll in their university all the credits from the certificate program will transfer. Numerous other schools have similar online programs, so that can offer a great option for the minister who wishes to seek more education. However, that still does not address the cost issue.
The Bible teaches that the borrower is slave to the lender, and it does not make an exception if the money borrowed was for education. I frequently listen to Dave Ramsey podcasts and many of the callers to his program are struggling with student debt. Ministers have enough challenges without having the additional challenge of debt and especially student debt. The student loan program was probably started with the best of intentions, making education available to anyone who wanted it, but it has developed into something that creates huge problems even years after one graduates. It also directed people away from the way education used to be paid for, and that was paying for it as you went. Is it possible to cash flow education today? Yes, if we're smart about how we approach it.
As many of you know from my books, when I began my pastoral ministry I had no education beyond high school. After a couple of years I decided my ministry would always be limited by my lack of education so I enrolled in a Bible school. I was working full-time, pastoring a church, and caring for a family. Because I could only attend on a part-time basis it took me four years to complete their two year program. I felt I gained so much from what I learned that I enrolled in a university as a part-time student. It took seven more years to earn my bachelor's degree, but it also allowed me to cash flow my education.
This also allowed something else to happen that enabled me to earn my degree with no debt. My employer paid for most of my tuition. The company's policy was to pay the tuition for any class that could be seen as potentially helpful to the company, and very few of my classes did not meet that criteria. My only costs was for travel and books. Some companies will pay for any class, no questions asked. This is a great way to have your education paid for.
Some will read this and say they don't want to spend eleven years getting their education. I suppose they would rather go off to school, rack up a ton of student load debt, and spend the next twenty years paying it off. My story may not be for everyone, but it will allow anyone to get an education who wants one, and without debt. Even if you don't work for a company that will pay for education, you can attend school part-time, take the classes you can afford to pay for, and complete your education debt-free.
We'll continue this discussion tomorrow.
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